Coca-Cola Classics

I didn’t know anything about Coca-Cola collectibles until I went away to college and discovered that my roommate was a huge fan of kitschy Coca-Cola Americana. But I soon became a fan myself; this memorabilia has a certain old-school charm that makes any room feel comfortable.

“The first calendar came in out 1908,” says Hilda King, publications director for the Coca-Cola Collectors Club. “And each calendar portrayed a wholesome-looking American girl in the fashion of that time frame, so you could take the first calendar, going through today’s calendar, and see a complete history of women’s fashion. The colors are very vivid: a tray, a cooler — everything looks like a work of art. Just the highest quality goes into anything they produce.”

The annual Coca-Cola Collectors Convention is taking place in Denver this year, June 29 through July 5; although you have to be a member to attend the convention itself (the $35 annual registration fee can be paid on site), today’s Coca-Cola Memorabilia Show and Sale is free and open to the public. Experts will also be on hand to appraise any items you might bring with you. Stop by the Hyatt Regency Tech Center, 7800 East Tufts Avenue, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; for information, call 303-779-1234
Sat., July 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 2009